Imaginary

Fictional Narratives

Novels:

• Sigrid Nunez, What Are You Going Through: A Novel (Riverhead Books, 2020): “Reading Sigrid Nunez’s absorbing new novel is somewhat akin to having a long conversation with someone who is telling you something very important, but is telling it in a very quiet voice. You have to really pay attention.”

Poetry

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

Paul Robeson “was a famous African-American athlete, singer, actor, and advocate for the civil rights of people around the world. He rose to prominence in a time when segregation was legal in the United States, and Black people were being lynched by racist mobs, especially in the South.”. During the McCarthy era, he famously resisted inquiries from the so-called House Un-American Activities Committee. He once said: “Through my singing and acting and speaking, I want to make freedom ring. Maybe I can touch people’s hearts better than I can their minds, with the common struggle of the common man.” He was the main subject of a documentary film called “Here I Stand”, which was also the title of his autobiography; and of books by Martin Duberman, and Joseph Dorinson & William Pencak, eds. His playlists are extensive. 

Miriam Makeba stood in solidarity with her fellow South African artists during Apartheid. “Through the lens of pan-African solidarity, the print dresses of her performances become political . . .” “Her huge repertory didn’t feature strident protest songs but in love songs and lullabies, party songs and calls for unity there was an indomitable will to survive: a joyful tenacity that could translate as both deep cultural memory and immediate defiance.” She said: “People have accused me of being a racist, but I am just a person for justice and humanity. People say I sing politics, but what I sing is not politics, it is the truth. I'm going to go on singing, telling the truth.” Here she is live in 1966, and in 2006. She left an impressive set of playlists. 

Edward Elgar, Violin Sonata in E Minor, Op. 82 (1918) (approx. 25-29’): Elgar described the sonata: “The first movement is bold and vigorous, then a fantastic, curious movement with a very expressive middle section; a melody for the violin they say it is as good or better than anything I have done in the expressive way … the last movement is very broad and soothing, like the last movement of the Second Symphony.” Elgar’s friend Marie had just died. A reviewer analyzes the conclusion of the sonata: “After one last outburst during the development the music gives the impression of settling down for a peaceful end. It is here that Elgar breaks off from the themes of the movement to quote a more impassioned version of the central theme from the Romance, in memory of his friend Marie. The coda emerges peacefully before gathering both strength and warmth for one last outburst of emotion with the firm affirmation of the E major tonality ending things on a more hopeful note.” It is as though he was standing by a dear friend. Top recorded performances are by Sammons & Murdoch in 1935, Rostal & Horsley in 1954, Kennedy & Pettinger in 1984, McAslan & Blakely in 1985, Vengerov & Chachamov in 1995, Little & Roscoe in 1999 ***, Lamsma & Miura in 2005, Crow & Stewart in 2006, van Keulen & Brautigam in 2007, Bezrodny & Ilja in 2007, Siem & Korobeinikov in 2007, Marshall-Luck & Rickard in 2012, Ehnes & Armstrong in 2016, Waley-Cohen & Watkins in 2017, and Capuçon & Hough in 2021. 

Other compositions:

• Ralph Vaughan Williams, Hugh the Drover (1914) (approx. 106’) (libretto & score): well-bred Mary falls in love with Hugh and they stand by each other to the stocks, from which they are freed. Here are the original cast recording from 1924; “A Cotswald Romance”, a cantata adapted from the work (1951); and an audio recording of the entire opera conducted by Charles Groves.
• Pēteris Vasks, Cello Concerto No. 2, “Klātbūtne” (Presence) (2012) (approx. 24-38’): “we hear both Vasks’s grief over the world that is and his idealism over the world that could be.” Vasks explains: “With every breath I am here in this world with all my ideals and dreams of a better world.”
• Friedrich Gernsheim, Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 32 (1875) (approx. 38’)
• Robert Casadesus, works for violin and piano, including Sonata No. 1, Op. 9 (1927) (approx. 11’): “The First Sonata sings and smiles. . . It was dedicated to his teacher, the composer Marie-François Emmanuel (1862-1938).”;  Sonata No. 2, Op. 34 (1952) (approx. 13’): “has jazzy tendencies”; and Hommage a Chausson for Violin and Piano, Op. 51 (1954) (approx. 9’)
• Casadesus, Suite for Two Violins, Op. 39 (In Memory of Gabriel Fauré) (1944) (approx. 15’)
• Raga Madhmad sarang is an afternoon raag. Performances are by Kishori Amonkar, and Malini Rajurkar. 

Albums:

• Emily D’Angelo, “enargeia” (2021) (53’) “demonstrates D’Angelo’s ability to enter into the heart of the music’s matter, unleashing its innate spirit.”
• Oscar Peterson Trio, “Night Train” (1962) (67); and “We Get Requests” (1963) (40’): Peterson, Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen form a tightly knit group that “sounds like” standing by each other.

Music: songs and other short pieces

• The Beatles, “Here, There and Everywhere” (lyrics)
• “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (lyrics), from the musical “Carousel” (also as sung by Elvis Presley, Judy Garland and Gerry & the Pacemakers)
• Nawang Khechog, “Presence”
• The Pretenders, “I’ll Stand with You” (lyrics)
• The Jackson 5, “I’ll Be There” (lyrics)
• Michael Jackson, “Will You Be There” (lyrics)
• Mumford & Sons, “I Will Wait” (lyrics)
• Rascal Flatts, “I Won’t Let Go” (lyrics)
• The Rembrandts, “I’ll Be There for You” (lyrics)

Visual Arts

• Umberto Boccioni, States of Mind: Those Who Stay (1911)
• Umberto Boccioni, States of Mind: Those Who Leave (1911)

Film and Stage

• Toy Story 2: the toys try to rescue their friend from an unhappy fate

From the dark side:

• Charulata (The Lonely Wife) is Satyajit Ray’s study of a woman whose husband pays her little attention.
• Tokyo Story, a tragedy of inattention and indifference
• Letter from an Unknown Woman, a story of unrequited romantic “love,” a pregnancy, a child and indifference